Life Without Chiefs By Marvin Harris Analysis

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In Life without Chiefs Marvin Harris demonstrates human evolution from egalitarian existence to present day capitalist structure. He states that for 98% of human existence, our ancestors lived in small foraging communities (Harris, 2009). Where everyone knew each other and people gave things knowing when they needed something those same people would reciprocate. They lived in an egalitarian society where everyone is equal and had the same rights and opportunities. An interesting aspect of our ancestors was they didn’t say “thank you” to the giver, and it wasn’t because they didn’t appreciate it, but that same person who was the giver one day could be the receiver the next. To them “saying ‘thank you’ is very rude. It suggest, first that one has calculated the amount of a gift, and second, that one did not expect the donor to be so generous” (Harris, 274). And again the reason they do this is because everyone is equal, no matter who provides the goods it is evenly distributed so that no one is superior or think they that authority over the band. Harris gives an example from our previo...

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